Nuggets play Thunder without forwards Wilson Chandler and Jan Vesely

OKLAHOMA CITY — The top of the dry-erase board in the Nuggets' locker room at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Monday night had this phrase:

"And then there were nine ..."

The most maddening theme of the Nuggets' season has been injuries, and two more players were forced to take a night off to heal, leaving the team with nine available players. Forwards Wilson Chandler and Jan Vesely did not play against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first of Denver's two-game road trip.

Chandler has dealt with a strained left hip of late and is day to day, Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said.

Chandler recently had an injection in the hip to help it continue to heal. He has missed four games this season because of that hip, including the last two.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson (15) passes from under the basket in front of Denver Nuggets center Timofey Mozqov (25) in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Monday, March 24, 2014. (Sue Ogrocki, The Associated Press)

Vesely is dealing with a bruised left rib cage, which he suffered in the Nuggets' 105-102 win over the Washington Wizards on Sunday. There is no timetable for his return.

"I don't know how long that's going to take," Shaw said.

Nuggets players have missed 232 man games this season. Shaw has used 22 different starting lineups.

Brooks empathizes. The Nuggets entered their game against Oklahoma City as winners in seven of their previous 11 games. Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks was asked what he saw that was different about them from the Nuggets team that struggled earlier.

"They've had injuries," Brooks said. "You feel for Coach Shaw in his first year with all of the injuries that he had to go through. But that's something that you go through as a team. You have to figure it out to continue to play competitive basketball, and they have been.

"It's tough to go through (injuries), but when you have them, you have to keep working toward the goals of the team."